Humans. You care. All of you care so terribly much. To the point of deadly self sacrifice.
Watching this election cycle I feel like a bystander as much as I am a participant. I'll never consider myself outside of the momentous activity happening in my country, but as we dive deeper down the rabbit hole, I give myself breaths of fresh air where I force myself to become neutral to absolutely everything. Every candidate. Every speech. Every piece of media coverage. No matter who or what it is, it simply turns into static noise. I dive beneath the waves and, there, is a peaceful holding pattern gifted only by God.
American politics have become so personal. For many of us, politics have replaced religious affiliation. Our identities have become so hooked on our personal belief systems that no matter where we stand, who we support, or what is most important to us, we feel like we'd be proud to die just to protect it. This is an oddly admirable yet foolish predicament of human nature... I've seen some of the most mindful, kind and spiritually awakened people I know suddenly become cut throat killers based simply on the propaganda of this election cycle. Everyone wanting to destroy their opposition because they feel so personally unrecognized by those who cannot understand their side of the story.
So that's dangerous... It says that somewhere along the way we felt that everyone around us lost respect for not only our personal values, but for our very lives as human beings in this country. And what's worse is the media gives us more and more ammo to fight harder and harder against one another. Always a message manipulated with just enough validation to make us feel justified. But not enough to win the approval of the opposition like we so dearly desire. In fact, we ironically push them away farther, because we've devalued them in our own silly attempt to feel validation, and forever we go back and forth to perpetuate the downward spiral of a false separation...
So I want to say this: I have very strong values that I now recognize are sowed and harvested by some media outlets who take advantage of my good nature. But I'll keep the holy essence of these values, despite the manipulation that I absolutely know is pulling and turning me to the will of nonsensical "group think" that has fueled an emotional war against those who we actually wish would join us.
Today I have decided to remain open and loving to absolutely everyone. Everyone from the racists to the vegan environmental terrorists. Everyone. Period. Every Black Lives Matter protester to every white NRA activist. And as I write that I still feel sick to my stomach despite my own pledge... But I absolutely know that that's the only way we'll keep our beloved country intact. If we expect understanding and compassion from those that don't share our politic afflictions and beliefs, then we must take the first step to be understanding and compassionate to theirs. No matter what or who they are. No matter how batshit crazy they sound to us. They have a personal story that has brought them to exactly where they are just as true and emotional as the story that brought us to our own little plot. They learned different things, but they aren't different from you at all.
Underneath the madness we all want to feel safe. And everyone deserves that. Every ignorant scum you've ever judged deserves what you deserve. Even Donald Trump. Even Hillary Clinton. Underneath all the bullshit, they only desire the basic fulfillment of love and happiness. Just like you. So no matter who wins, who gets better media coverage, who had more money, who wins the election... At the end of the day you only have what you gave to the world. So give openly, freely, compassionately! This election seeks to drive us apart. But I'll forever swim up that stream and remind everyone that I'll love you no matter where you came from and no matter what blessed idiot the media convinced you to vote for. We're still together.
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